Politics

That's My Issue: Choice

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A sheet of voter stickers is seen inside Fire Station 38, as people go to the polls for a special election called by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers to decide on statewide budget-balancing ballot propositions on May 19, 2009 in Pasadena, California.
David McNew/Getty Images

Whitney in Los Angeles|August 29, 2012

This post is part of KPCC & WNYC's "That's My Issue" series, and represents the views of its author, not of either station.

When I was 15, I attended a NOW (National Organization for Women) rally with my aunt. I remember thinking, "I don't know what I would do, but I would at least want the choice."

When I became pregnant with my first child at 28, happiness tuned into shock, then into elation at 16 weeks when we found out we were having twins.

Well, between 16 and 22 weeks, elation turned into a roller coaster of emotions when I found out my twins had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. We were faced with the agonizing decision of bringing two lives into this world that were very likely to have profound disabilities.

We did hours upon hours of research. My husband and I made what I call the easiest/hardest decision of my life: I terminated my pregnancy at 22 weeks gestation.

I want every woman to have the choice available to them. The fact that so much choice has been taken away in the years since my decision angers me down to my core.